COAL MINING UNDER THE RAILROAD LINES IN THE CHELVABINSK BASIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310163-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 15, 2011
• Sequence Number: 163
• Publication Date: May 22, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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COAL MINING UNDER THE RAILROAD LINES IN THE CHELYABINSK BASIN
The problem of coal mining under railroad lines is of considerable practical
value in the Chelyabinsk Basin. This basin has a dense network of sidings and,
if pillars are left to protect the railroad, ?s large amount of coal would be lost
because of the numerous and rich coal seams. The danger of underground fires
alsosexists.
The structure and composition of strata, as well as their location, facili-
tate mining under the railroad lines. The strata are mainly formed of plastic
clayey rock (argillite 50-70 percent, sandstone 10-20 percent, conglomerates
1-1 percent). The coal seams dip for the most part.
Experiments on working under railroad lines in the Chelyabinsk Basin were
first carried out in 1934; during the past 3 years, this work has been particu-
larly well developed. Mine surveying for this operatian has been carried out by
the Ural branch of the VNIMI (All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Mineral
Deposits) since 1946. Simultaneously with observations conducted by means of in-
strtnnents,,a great amount of information was gathered on all the places in the.
basin where mining was carried on under railroad lines.
The moot typical cases are as follows:
1. Kopeysk-Korkino Railroad Branch
The roadbeds in the mining area have an embankment, 1-2 meters high,
and intersect the mine face obliquely. Coal iining under the railroad lire
takes place at face No 56 of seam 1, Mine No 204. This face.is mined at the
fourth layer of the seam, located at a depth of 64-110 meters, with a 10-12
degree dip and a thickpess of 2.4-2.9 meters. The length of the face is 210
meters. The roof is controlled by stoping at 1.6-meter intervals.
CONFIDENTIAL
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CLASSIFICATION c0NFIDENTIGONFIOENT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 1n1 LL WELRT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Economic - Coal
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED Apr 1949
LANGUAGE Russian
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF ESPIONAGE ACT SO
U. S. C.. 31 AND 3E. AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR 19E REVELATION
OF IT3 CONTENTS IN AMT MANNER TO AM UNAVTN ORITED IF RSON IS PRO.
VISITED ST LAW. REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROMIRITED.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1949
DATE DIST. 22- May 1950
NO. OF PAGES 4
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOURCE Ugol,, No 4, 1949.
 CQNHIDEPITI~
The rock above seam 1 is mainly argillite and "avlevrolity" inter-
spersed with sandstone. The bed rock is covered with overburden, 20 meters
thick.
Considerable displacement of the roadbed resulted from this under-
ground mining. Maximum sags reached 1,736 millimeters, with 450 millimeters
of horizontal displacement.
During the mining operation, the roadbed was constantly repaired by
adding ballast to restore the profile. No breakdown or delay of train traffic
occurred. The speed of passenger trains was reduced to 5 kilometers per hour
in the mining area.
2. Kopeysk-Mine No 41 Railroad Branch
Coal mining under the railroad line takes place at faces No 5 and 5-
bis of seam 1, Mine No 41. In this sector the track is partly built on a fill
and partly in a cut, and runs above the hauling drift.
At faces No 5 and 5-bis, coal is extracted from the lower layer of
the seam which is 2.5 meters thick and lies at a depth varying from 72 to 90
meters. The seam dips at a 6-8 degree angle and the faces are 70 meters long.
The average monthly advance of face No 5-bis is 15-17 meters; that of face
No 5, 5-6 meters. The rock above the seam is mainly composed of argillites
interspersed with sandstone. The overburden is 24-30 meters thick.
As a result of mining, the roadbed sagged 1,080 millimeters, the
horizontal displacement reached 500 millimeters. There was no significant
distortion of the railroad track. Ballast was constantly added, and the ' -ain
traffic was not stopped because of mining.
3. Siding--Mine No 43-bis
Mining under the railroad lines takes place at Mine No 42 kap. Face
No 4 is roughly parallel to the railroad track, which in this area is laid on
an embankment 1.5-1.7 meters high. At face No 4 coal is extracted from the
upper layer of seam 2, which is 2.15 meters thick and is located at a depth of
34-60 meters. The seam dips at a 15-degree angle and the length of the face is
135 meters. The roof is controlled by stoping at intervals of 1.8 meters. Rock
overlaying seam 2 is argillite interspersed with sandstone (up to 1.5 meters).
The overburden is 30-32 meters thick.
Because of the mining, sagging of the surface reached 1.5 meters;
str.tching, 22.8 millimeters per meter (interval 14-15); contraction, 25.2
millimeters per meter; deviations, 69 millimeters per meter.
Because of the slow advance of the face, cracks parallel to the face
appeared on the surface and disappeared under the roadbed.
All through the process of mining the roadbed was repaired by adding
ballast, and at the time of the last survey was in satisfactory condition. In
this sector extra ballast was added from marker 8 to marker 17. There were no
breakdowns or interruptions of train traffic.
4. Tayandy-Yemanzhelnika Railroad Line
The railroad line runs above the center of mining operations in the
"Sputnik" seam, Mine No 18-bi3. Mining is carried on at a depth of 50 meters.
The seam dips at a 16-degree angle and has a thickness of 1.6 meters. The roof
is controlled by complete stoping. 0verlay'.ng the "Sputnik" seam are two seams
of sandstone 20 meters thick.
_ 2 - CONFIDENTIAL
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Al I
Mining under the railroad line took place over a distance of 300
meters in length. Repairs were carried out every 1-2 days. At the time of
the last survey, 2,000 cubic meters of ballast had been added. The speed of
trains in this mining area was reduced to 10 kilometers per hour. No break-
downs occurred in this sector.
The railroad line runs above the center of the mining operations.
The seam is 8 meters thick and is worked in three layers (1st layer, 2.4-2.6
meters; 2d layer, 2.2 meters; 3d layer, 1.6-2.8 meters). The dip varies from
18 to 65 degrees. The roof is controlled by complete stoping. Roadbed sag-
ging reached 3 meters, but since ballast was regularly added, the use of the
road remained normal.
The above examples indicate a series of varying conditions in mining under
railroad lines in the Chelyabinsk Basin: the depth varied from 20-112 meters,
angle of dip from 6-40 degrees, the minimum thickness from 1.6-5 meters; the
angle formed by the railroad line and the mine face also varied. No serious
breakdown and no noticeable delay of trains because of roadbed repairs have
ever been observed.
In the majority of cases, tracks were laid on fills or in cuts, the height
of which reached 2.5 ..methrs._ These constructions have never suffered any
malformations except sagging.
Emergency repairs were never necessary, since the maximum rate of sagging
never surpassed 50 millimeters per 24 hours, and usually varied 5-10 millimeters.
Track repair was carried out periodically, thus enabling one brigade to service
several different places. The repair work is very simple and usually consists
of adding ballast and straightening rails.
According to the Loading and Transport Administration.of the Kopeyskugol'
Trust, the reconditioning work costs in the above-note! mines amounted to ap-
proximately 127,000 rubles during the year. In the same mines, 254,400 tons of
coal were extracted from pillars which otherwise would have been left as sup-
ports for the railroads.
The experience in extracting coal pillars led to the following conclusions:
1. Railroad operation in the Chelyabinsk Basin was not disturbed, and there
was no considerable expenses for repairs caused by mining, provided ballast was
added in time.
Additional expenses for repair of roadbeds in the Kopeyskugol' Trust
amounted to an average of 0.20-0.50 ruble per ton of coal obtained from pillars
under the railroad. At the same time, coal losses were reduced, and the neces-
sity of building props in certain mines eliminated.
2. Railroad sectors under which mining is carried out are to be carefully
inspected, and ballast must be added regularly throughout the whole process of
sagging, which varies from 2.5-4 months.
Slag and old refuse ore can be used as ballast for sidings, although
this material may shrink up to 50 percent. If the railroads under which mining
is carried on handle considerable traffic and if it is not advisable to reduce
the speed of the trains, a better-quality ballast should be used.
no. Kflor~ITIAL
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3. When mining takes place at a depth of 45 meters or more and there is
a dip in the stratum up to 45 degrees, high rate of malformation, which may
seriously endanger the tracks, is not to be feared. Even though the active
stage of the process of displr.cement the rate of sagging at the surface is
10-15 millimeters per 24 hours.
4. The chief precautionary measures to be taken when mining is carried
out under the railroad tracks are:
a. The limits of the railroad section under which mining takes place
must be marked with special signs.
b. The speed of freight trains must be reduced to 10 kilometers per
hour and that of passenger trains to 5-6 kilometers per hour. This speed can
be increased when higher quality ballast is used.
5. When mining under the railroad is carried on in very thick seams (layer
removed) or in a series of seams, a minimum interval of 4 months should elapse
between starting the extraction of two different seams or formations.
6. When mining takes place in layers dipping at an angle of 0-45 degrees,
mining under railroad lines is possible no matter what the direction of the
track is in relation to the mine face. However, in order to improve the con-
ditions of the operation, it is necessary to observe the following:
a. If faces are long and if the contour of the displaced ground area
covers a large section of the roadbeds, the direction of the mine face must form
an oblique angle with the direction of the track. Underground work in such a
case must be carried out gradually, thus facilitating repair work.
b. When faces ere short, the mine face must be parallel to the direc-
tion of the track.
c. A mine face perpendicular to the track is the most disadvantageous
layout, since, in this case, repair work is delayed considerably and covers a
large area.
7. Mining under railroad lines is possible when it takes place either in
steep seams of medium thickness and there is complete roof stoping, or in series
of steep seams and the emptied space backfilled, provided tracks are located
above the lower end of the mine and parallel to the direction of the seam.
8. The work in a series of steep seams (,)r -'-n one very thick steeply dip-
ping seam) with a complete roof stoping results in a total destruction of tracks,
which then require lengthy repairs. In this case, either the tracks must be re-
moved from the mining area, or coal pillars must remain under the tracks.
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